FORMER Prime Minister and Member for Ialibu Pangia, Hon. Peter O’Neill for the first time, has commended Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey for delivering a windfall of K771m 2023 Supplementary Budget.
“I commend the Treasurer for the 2023 Supplementary Budget with quiet a substantial windfall of close to over K700 million.
“It’s always good to announce windfalls when we are running deficit budgets.
“I’m very pleased to see that the resources prices have accumulated into making this windfall possible, and off course we support the budget and its implementation,” Mr. O’Neill said.
He also expressed his appreciation to Treasurer for indicating in his budget speech the government’s commitment to reduce the budget deficit by K1b in 2024.
“I’m very pleased to hear one good news out of this Supplementary Budget is that the Treasurer is committed to this Honorable House and to our nation that he will reduce deficit by K1b in 2024.
“That we wholeheartedly support.
“I think it is a good approach to have a steady decline in our deficit so that we can try and live within our means.
“If that is a sort of approach that we are taking, then I want to assure the Treasure that he has no problems with us on this side of the House (Opposition).
“Maintain that conscience, regardless of whether you are in the government or opposition.
“We still live in this country, we still go through the same pains – the pains that our people go through, and we go through it together with them.
“It does not really matter in some of our electorates whether someone is the government or opposition because they want to get on with their daily lives and what is challenging them every single day,” Mr. O’Neill stressed.
However, he said the 2023 Budget is already a record budget in terms of revenue and in terms of expenditure.
“The situation is that we are spending more than what we are earning, and still that is the position,” he said.
While commending the Treasurer, Mr. O’Neill also emphasized strongly on the accountability part of the disbursement of budget allocations as per vote 207.
One specific area among others that he points out was about the accountability in the distribution the District Service Improvement Programme (DSIP) funds.
“Some of us are getting K1m to K2m in a year and some (MPs) are already getting K8m to K10m DSIP.
“This is because the Treasurer himself is in charge of issuing the warrants so he is trying to control by playing some little politics.
“But I want to assure the Treasure that this money doesn’t go to Peter O’Neill’s pocket or any other MP’s for that matter.
“It goes direct to the people so you know do the right thing, our people still need health services, our people still need education services.
“And what is allocated must be given to that allocated vote so that it get disbursed in a proper manner,” O’Neill said.
The former prime minister was speaking during the budget debate session in parliament on Thursday following the introduction of the 2023 Supplementary Budget by Treasurer.
Meanwhile, Members from the both sides of the house have commended the Treasurer for delivering the 2023 Supplementary Budget with a windfall of K771 million.